Caries risk profiles in 13–15-year-old schoolchildren in guntur city using cariogram: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Dental caries continues to be a major health concern for populations worldwide. In India, the prevalence is increasing at an alarming rate among child population. Assessing caries risk in children is more beneficial than treating the disease in terms of economic as well as public health outcomes. Hence, a study was conducted to assess caries risk in 13–15-year-old government and private schoolchildren in Guntur city using Cariogram model and to identify the particular risk factors that were most frequent among schoolchildren. Materials and Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among government and private high schoolchildren in Guntur city. A total of 100 children aged 13–15 years were selected randomly. Data were obtained by means of questionnaire, intraoral examination, and salivary analysis. The information obtained was entered into Cariogram model to calculate the “percentage chance to avoid caries.” Results: Of the total 100 schoolchildren, 43 were boys and 57 were girls. The government schoolchildren had a higher mean decayed, missing, and filled teeth (1.50 ± 1.669) compared to the private schoolchildren (0.40 ± 0.833), which was significant. The mean chance to avoid caries was significantly higher in private schoolchildren (70.56%) compared to government schoolchildren (57.32%). Conclusion: Diet incorporates a major role in assessing caries risk in the present study including its content and frequency. The Cariogram model could find out the factors contributing to the development of caries in the individual and help to plan targeted preventive actions.

Keywords

• caries risk assessment
• cariogram
• decayed
• missing
• and filled teeth
• lactobacilli
• streptococcus mutans